Once & Always
by Adeline
Summary: Future fic. Alternate Universe. Luby. (God, I suck at these! )
1. Prologue

Title: Once & Always

Title: Once & Always  
Part: Prologue  
Author: Adeline ([gossy16@yahoo.com][1])  
Category: AU, Luka & Abby  
Rating: PG  
Spoilers: Season 6.  
Summary: FUTURE FIC. Luka and Abby never dated. They've been on parallel tracks all their lives, and meet again away from County several years later.  
Archive: Soon to be at my site, FanFiction.Net, and ERTVOnline. Ask permission to put up anywhere else.  
Song: Two lines from Sarah McLachlan's "Fear," which I was listening to while writing and it just seemed to fit.  
  
Disclaimer: Most characters in this story aren't mine. But the story is, and, four, count 'em 4, characters are mine as well. HA! :P  
  
Notes: This is a "Once & Again" type o' fic, and for the purpose of this story, some things I wrote I'm sure will make ya want to throw things at me. But personally, and that's just an opinion, I think you should reconsider. :)  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
"Once & Always," Prologue, by Adeline ([gossy16@yahoo.com][1]).  
  
  
"Mom?" Carol was oblivious.  
  
"Mom..." Focused on the road and nothing else.  
  
"Mom!!" The twins chorused, annoyed that their mother wouldn't acknowledge them. But even that didn't work wonders. Tess and Kate exchanged an exasperated look and rolled eyes. Why, when all else fails...  
  
"CAROL MARIE HATHAWAY KOVAC!!!"  
  
"What?" Carol finally reacted, and Tess was finally able to ask what she'd been meaning to.  
  
"Mom, can I ask you again, why do we have to go see our father now? I mean, we're fourteen, damnit! He don't care about us!"  
  
"Yeah!" Kate agreed eagerly.  
  
Without a word, Carol slowed the car and quickly parked on the hard shoulder, shaking her head in disapproval as she did so. Then she unbuckled her security belt, and shifted on her seat to look her eldest in the eye.  
  
"Tess, I forbid you to ever say that again. Don't even think it, okay? You too, Kate."  
  
"Why not?" spat the youngest.  
  
"Because it's not true. Doug loves you two very much."  
  
"Us two, huh?" Tess sulkily looked away, while Kate was admiring the purple paint on her fingernails in denial.  
  
Carol sighed sadly. "Don't... Don't start with that, we've been through this before." The girls ignored this and stayed aloof. "Look at me." Surprisingly enough, they obeyed. "It *is* different with Evan and Tim, he doesn't know them. But that doesn't mean Luka loves *you* any less, you know that."  
  
Kate looked up, and Carol noticed how her eyes were glowing with unshed tears. Tess kept looking out her window. She'd always been the stronger of the two, or at least that's how she wanted to be perceived. But Carol had learned to see through it a long time ago. Luka had learned to see through it a long time ago. But they'd always figured, so long as she could fool herself she would be alright.  
  
"You are Doug's children after all, and it's his right to see you." Carol said softly, perfectly knowing that her 'babies' weren't ready as she wished they had been.  
  
A hot tear escaped Kate and landed on her cheek with the weight of doubts, uncertainty, and the million questions which had been gnawing at her ever since she had known about 'her other dad'. It was shortly before Evan was born, and Doug had come see her and Tess in Chicago soon afterwards, but she didn't remember much of that one short visit years ago, now.  
  
Tess did remember. And she was not alright. "Yah. Like once every six years!"  
  
Carol knew they were shaken, and so she let this slide. Come to think of it, she was pretty shaken herself. She was a mixture of anxious and excited, but the strange thing was, that somewhere at the back of her mind, she felt peaceful.  
  
She resumed driving down the Interstate, and an hour later, they were several miles into Wisconsin.  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
"Joint custody, okay with you?" Abby questioned her soon-to-be ex-husband. "I'll try to drop the papers by the lawyer's office after work tomorrow."  
  
"Sure thing." Michael Saltzberg, 44, replied, lovingly still. "Whatever you like."  
  
Abby rubbed her neck and looked up from the papers she was filling out, and made a note to herself to never again fill out papers when sitting on the edge of a bed. "No, Mike, it's important. Are you gonna be able to take  
Adam and Jane with you at any given time, yes or no?"  
  
"Yes, yes!" He sighed. "Of course, I will."  
  
"Well, you never know..." Abby sniped.  
  
Michael stood up and folded out his arms, then held his right hand up in front of him as if to stop her words from getting to him. "No, Abby, no. No. Don't talk to me like I'm... this horrible, immature, irresponsible person..." He paused shortly, choosing his words. "You're the one who wanted a divorce, not I, and I'll take care of my kids for as long as they need me." He eventually dropped his arm and let his hand rest on his hip. "And, beyond."  
  
Abby apologetically looked up at him and said nothing. Michael crouched to meet her eyeline and sorrowfully sighed. "Look, I've said I was sorry a million times - I always meant it, and I still am. You know full well that I  
still love you. Why can't we--"  
  
Before he could finish, Abby silenced him by a finger on his lips, and she smiled bittersweetly as she slowly shook her head and whispered. "No. I'm not happy, Michael. I know I'm not making you happy. This is probably  
for the best, and you'll get by."  
  
She took her finger away, but Michael didn't try to argue. He just looked intently into her eyes and held her gaze for a minute. He knew Abby had beautiful things hidden inside, but he had never been able to see very  
deep into her. And he knew he was never going to.  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
I fear, I have nothing to give  
And I have so much to lose.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
So he nodded ever-so-slightly and murmured sweetly, almost inaudibly as though he didn't want to hear himself say it. "Okay... Okay."  
  
Abby closed her eyes and swallowed hard. "Thank you."  
  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
  
Part 1 to come not-so-soon *if* there's interest. Thanks in advance for all  
kinds of feedback!  
  
_[~Adeline.][2]_

   [1]: mailto:gossy16@yahoo.com
   [2]: mailto:gossy16@yahoo.com?subject=Once%20&%20Always,%20prologue



	2. Part 1

Title: Once & Always  
Part: 1/?  
Author: Adeline (gossy16@yahoo.com)  
Category: AU - LKo/AL  
Rating: PG  
Spoilers: Nope, nope, nope. Ain't alt. universe fer nothin'  
Summary: FUTURE FIC. Luka and Abby never dated. They've sort of been on  
parallel tracks all their lives, and meet again away from County several  
years later.  
Archive: Soon to be at my site, FanFiction.Net, and ERTVOnline. Ask  
permission to put up anywhere else.  
  
Disclaimer: The ER characters aren't mine. The story is mine. And it seems I  
can write somehow, but it turns out I can't count: FIVE characters are mine,  
not 4. Oh well.  
  
The Prologue to this story can be found: in this list's archives, in  
alt.tv.er.creative's archives;  
here: http://www.fanfiction.net/index.fic?action=story-read&storyid=344197 ;  
and there: http://ertvonline.fanfiction.com/adeline/always.htm ;  
and yonder there: http://www.geocities.com/gossy16/OandAp.htm  
  
  
To Mely: We'll break you. 'Nuff said. ;P  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
"Once & Always," Part One, by Adeline (gossy16@yahoo.com)  
  
  
"Daddy! Daddy! I want a ride too!" A six-year-old boy was tugging at his  
father's hand as they were walking the busy New York City streets.  
  
"Evan," Luka sighed, looking down to his son. "You are a big boy, now."  
  
"So?" The boy pressed, "Timmy's big too!"  
  
"So you too heavy for Daddy!" The younger brother chimed in.  
  
"No fair." Evan sulked.  
  
"Nope." Luka confirmed.  
  
"No fair! No fair! No fair! No fair!" The boy started to make a scene.  
  
Luka stopped walking and sighed again. "Okay, you win. But no more than  
five minutes, alright?"  
  
"YEAH!" Evan beamed.  
  
Luka crouched down to let his youngest hop off. "Fun's over, Tim."  
  
Frowning, the child slid off Luka's back and grabbed his hand tightly  
immediately, as his brother gleefully climbed up their dad's shoulders.  
  
"Ughhh!" Luka stood up and winced in pretend-pain as if this was the  
heaviest weight one had ever had to lift.  
  
They walked a few blocks, and all of a sudden Evan pointed to the sky  
and kicked his feet in excitement, screaming, "Daddy! Is it the Emperor  
State Building??"  
  
"*Empire* State Building, yes." Luka corrected. "And if you calm down,  
Daddy will buy you an ice-cream." He said as he tightened his grip around  
the child's ankle, afraid that he might fall.  
  
"Wooowwww!" The boy stared up in amazement, shielding his eyes from the  
sun with his little hand.  
  
"I wanna see too!!" Tim demanded excitedly, jumping up & down. "I wanna  
see the skycrapper!"  
  
Luka chuckled, "Skyscraper. You know... these things are very  
overrated." He crouched down again.  
  
Evan reluctantly jumped off his Daddy's back and swatted his little  
brother on the arm.  
  
"Hey! None of that!" Luka scolded, "No more shoulder-rides for you."  
  
Before Tim was settled in his 'favoritest place in the whoooole world,'  
another little boy stumbled upon them. He was taller than Evan by an inch or  
three, and looked disoriented. Luka thought for a moment that some of his  
traits were remotely familiar, but he couldn't place his face.  
  
"Are you lost?"  
  
The boy nodded wordlessly, perhaps scared.  
  
"Have you lost your Mommy?"  
  
The boy nodded again, with a sad glint in his eyes.  
  
"Do you know for how long?"  
  
This time, he shook his head. It seemed as though he was about to cry,  
but thought of himself as too big a boy to let it show.  
  
"Daddy, are we going to find his mommy?" Tim asked out of curiosity.  
  
Luka smiled. "Yeah."  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
Abby was frantic. It was just seconds after four minutes now, since she  
had realized he had gotten away. Four minutes of going crazy, asking every  
passerby in her reach if they had seen a thin dark-haired boy with hazel  
eyes, about four feet tall, praying that someone would answer positively.  
And some did, but they were very vague. 'He went this way.' Like that was of  
great help!  
  
She knew she shouldn't have taken him with her! God, how could she be so  
careless! A second of inattention had been enough, and now she was begging  
the Heavens that she would find him soon. Michael would be raving mad if she  
lost their son, especially so soon before their daughter's birthday. She had  
taken him to help her pick a good present, how ironic. 'Hey Jane, you know  
how sometimes your brother and you don't always get on well? Well for your  
birthday I lost him in the city!' Gosh! How could she have done this?  
  
She'd thought it could have been a good idea to show him where his dad  
worked afterwards, since he had always wanted to see. Well, turns out it had  
been an extremely bad idea! And with streets *this* crowded, her eyes only  
wouldn't suffice to locate him. She did become aware though, that the  
sidewalks were kept amazingly clean considering the amount of shoes they  
were walked by.  
  
Eleven minutes, and still no precise indication. Well, now that she was  
here, she had two options. She could either alert the police, or tell  
Michael. And as much an ordeal as it sure would be, the latter option seemed  
the more reasonable at the time. Ugh!  
  
As she neared her ex-husband's office, Abby scanned the moving crowds  
time & time & time again, just in case. It *would* be a shame to miss him  
while she was just explaining things to his father. But she had no luck, and  
her distress grew more with each beat of her heart and every step she took.  
What if he'd been kidnapped? Or hit by a car?  
  
Just as she pushed the door to Michael's building and looked back one  
ultimate time, as if on cue, her boy entered her field of sight. He was  
riding somebody's shoulders on the opposite sidewalk, clutching a chocolate  
ice-cream, a painfully sad expression plastered across his face.  
  
"Adam!" Abby cried. "Adam! Adam!!"  
  
But the sound of traffic in genral and roaring cars in particular  
wouldn't let her calls make it across the street. Without a second thought,  
and fearless for her life, she ran blindly to the other sidewalk, under the  
grunting and honking of automobilists disturbed in their course.  
  
She chased after the stranger, and called her son's name again. "Adam!"  
  
Luka turned around, rightly presuming the screams he was hearing were  
the boy's mother's. With only a happy smile, he took him off his back and  
gave him to the crying lady. The boy just wrapped himself in his mother's  
arms.  
  
"Oh, Adam! Oh, thank God! You're alive!"  
  
Evan cheered. "Yay! Daddy, you rock!"  
  
At this, Luka laughed softly and Abby looked up, wiping tears of relief  
away with one hand. "Oh, thank you! Thank you, thank you so much!"  
  
Luka smiled again. "It was no problem."  
  
That voice. She'd heard it before, that deep, low, warm voice. It  
reminded her of... Chicago?  
  
"We promised him we'd find his mommy."  
  
Yup, Cook County General, Chicago, eight years ago. Wow. Talk about  
unexpected.  
  
"Dr. Kovac?"  
  
"Um, yes..." Luka was confused. "And you must be..."  
  
Abby was slightly embarrassed "Ab--  
  
"Nurse Lockhart!!" Luka exclaimed. "Of course! Nurse Lockhart from  
Chicago!" Wow. She'd worked in the ER a while ago and left suddenly after  
two years. Or was it three? The rumor at the time was that she'd been dating  
Carter for a short time and ran when that was through.  
  
Abby smiled. "Yes, that would be me. But call me Abby."  
  
"Oh, and I'm Luka." He smiled back.  
  
"So..." Abby shifted uncomfortably on her feet. What exactly was she  
supposed to say? She hadn't seen Dr. Kov-- Luka, in about eight years. And  
even then, they hadn't each other that well. "What are you doing in New York  
City?"  
  
"I could ask you the same..." Luka hinted. The situation seemed quite  
comical to him, although he couldn't detect why.  
  
"Well, I live here." Abby answered. "What about you?"  
  
"So do we, actually." Luka smiled.  
  
Abby was pleasantly surprised. "Really? Are you a doctor here?"  
  
"Uh, yeah, at Bellevue. Temporarily."  
  
"Oh." Abby seemed to ponder over this, but wasn't sure she should ask  
any more questions. She didn't want to intimidate him. But, temporarily?  
  
Luka noticed this and sighed. "It's a... quite a long story."  
  
Tim suddenly interrupted the emtpy silence that followed. "Who is she,  
Daddy?"  
  
Abby and Luka both chuckled, and he lowered himself to the boy's level  
to wipe some ice cream off his cheek. "She's an old friend of Daddy's." Tim  
eyed her suspiciously and Luka ruffled his hair as he stood back up and  
smiled apologetically at Abby.  
  
"Well," she grinned, "since my old friend's in town for awhile, why  
doesn't he give me his number so we can keep in touch?"  
  
Luka shifted, and smiled nervously. "Um, sure, why not?"  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
To be continued...  
  
~Adeline.  



End file.
